Staff Pick

"Be careful what you wish for, lest it come true." That old adage certainly applies to Alix Nathan's terrific tale of the rampant abuses inherent in the days before ethics committees existed. Rich, intellectual, science-loving Herbert Powyss can have anything he wants, and does, but it's not enough. He devises an experiment wherein a man will live sequestered for seven years in the cellar apartment Powyss has meticulously furnished with books, music, every comfort, and all meals provided. The only person who answers the ad is John Warlow — a rough laborer with a wife and many children — and so the experiment begins; or, rather, the disaster begins. Playing with themes of individuality, man's need for human interaction, culture, income inequality, empathy, and mental illness, and with nods to The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Jane Eyre, Kidnapped, and myriad other classics, Nathan's enjoyment of writing this book is evident on every page. Her characters are layered, her setting is rich, and her story is mesmerizing; this modern classic is suspenseful, thought-provoking, and heartbreaking. She wrote her protagonist's inner life so convincingly, I mistook the author for a man. Excellently done, this kind of book doesn't come around very often — do not miss it! Recommended By Dianah H., Powells.com

Synopses & Reviews

Synopsis

An utterly transporting and original historical novel about an 18th century experiment in personal isolation that yields unexpected--and deeply, shatteringly human--results."The best kind of historical fiction... Alix Nathan] is an original, with a virtuoso touch." --Hilary Mantel

Albert Powyss lives in a large estate in the Welsh Marches, with enough time and income to pursue a gentleman's fashionable investigations and experiments in the field of botany. But he longs to make his mark in the field of behavioral sciences--something consequential enough to present to the Royal Society in London. He hits on a radical experiment in isolation: For seven years a subject will inhabit three rooms in the basement of the manor house, fitted out with books, paintings, tapestries and even a chamber organ. Healthy meals will arrive thrice daily via a dumbwaiter. The solitude will be totally unrelieved by any social contact whatsoever; the subject will keep a diary of his daily thoughts and actions. The pay: fifty pounds per annum, for life. Only one man is desperate to apply for the job: John Warlow, a semi-literate laborer with a wife and six children to provide for. The experiment, a classic Enlightenment exercise gone more than a little mad, will have unforeseen consequences for all included.